Members of Arrowsmith Search and Rescue scrambled to the banks of the Puntledge River near Comox on Monday.
Search manager Randy Lewis said the searchers were called out just past noon to help Comox Valley Search and Rescue after a set of clothes were found on the banks of the river, with nobody around to claim them.
"We had eight people go, three swift water personnel and five shore search personnel," he said. The search ended at around 6 p.m. he said, after rescuers received word that the person who left the clothes had checked into the hospital.
Comox RCMP Constable Nicole Hall said police called in the searchers because they were unsure of what had happened to the owner of the clothing. "We ended up locating the male," she said. "He was having some mental health issues and he jumped in the river, swam across and then found his way home." The man's wife took him to hospital for treatment.